


In Which Pooh Finds Someone Lost and is Rewarded

by fawatson



Category: Winnie-the-Pooh - A. A. Milne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-29
Updated: 2009-03-29
Packaged: 2018-01-25 06:17:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1636025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fawatson/pseuds/fawatson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><b>Written for:</b> Aiolos<br/></p><p><b>Request:</b> Something warm and happy (and possibly even involving honey) would be nice.</p><p><b>Disclaimer:</b> I do not own these characters and make no profit by them.</p><p><b>Author's Notes:</b> I have borrowed a character (Mother) from the poem "Disobedience" in <i>When We Were Very Young</i> (also by AA Milne).  </p><p><b>Characters Mentioned:</b> Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, James James Morrison</p>
    </blockquote>





	In Which Pooh Finds Someone Lost and is Rewarded

**Author's Note:**

> **Written for:** Aiolos  
> 
> 
>  **Request:** Something warm and happy (and possibly even involving honey) would be nice.
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters and make no profit by them.
> 
>  **Author's Notes:** I have borrowed a character (Mother) from the poem "Disobedience" in _When We Were Very Young_ (also by AA Milne). 
> 
> **Characters Mentioned:** Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, James James Morrison

One fine day Pooh decided he would go to see his friend Rabbit. He couldn't quite remember when he last saw Rabbit. 

He'd seen Piglet and Eeyore the other day. They'd gone for a lovely long ramble with Christopher Robin in the Hundred Aker Wood. Well, long anyway. He'd forgotten to take any food with him and he'd been quite _hungry_ by the time they got back. Eeyore had been all right. Pooh had found him a clump of thistles. Well, to be truthful (Pooh was an honest bear even if he was a bear of very little brain) he hadn't really _meant_ to find Eeyore some thistles. He'd been looking for honey, when he lost his balance and sat down rather suddenly. It had hurt, and Eeyore hadn't seemed at all grateful when he pointed out the thistles he'd found. 

"Bent them again, I see," said Eeyore. "They really are nicer fresh."

Piglet had found some haycorns in his pocket, leftover from an earlier expedition. They'd been a bit dusty, but Piglet hadn't minded. But Pooh had not found any honey anywhere he looked. Christopher Robin had offered to share his cucumber sandwiches with him, but they just weren't the same, really. Though he thanked Christopher Robin politely, of course. Anyway, when he'd finally got back home he'd been simply famished, so without any delay he'd tucked into a nice pot of honey - or two - or three. 

Actually, as Pooh surveyed his bare cupboards that morning with a sinking feeling, he realised he'd polished them all off. He looked out his back door. Yes, there they were - six honey pots. He checked them carefully, just in case there was something left. You never knew. No, no honey. 

Which is why Pooh decided to go visit his friend Rabbit. He always had something to eat. Besides, he hadn't seen him in a while. 

The sun shone brightly as Pooh set out. He fancied he heard some birds calling rather rudely but he decided to ignore them. As he walked he thought of a little song. It would be a good song to sing with a friend, he thought. He had no friend with him, but he decided just to sing it anyway. 

_Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie._

There is no honey and I don't know why.

If there were syrup and jam, you'd be happy as I.

Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie. 

He repeated it twice, but although he knew it was a good song, he wasn't very satisfied with it. At first he thought that might be because he'd sung it before, somewhere (hadn't he?). Then he thought it might have something to do with a rather peculiar feeling that was coming over him the longer he walked. It prickled his feet and hands and pushed inside him - _hard._ And he realised he actually wasn't very happy, because it was a hollow sort of feeling. He looked around him. The sun was now high overhead and he'd realised he must have been walking for a long time. It was definitely time for a little bite of something. 

He looked around him for a honey pot. Surely he'd brought one with him? Yes, there was one, but it was empty. He looked behind the gorse bush - carefully - as they were prickly sort of bushes. Perhaps he'd put the full one there (he felt sure he wouldn't have come out without a little bit of something to sustain him). No - no honey pot. Instead he saw something _very strange._ There was Something New in the wood!

"Hallo! What's this?" said Pooh. 

"Hallo!" called back Something New, by which Pooh new this must be Some _one_ New, not thing after all. Except it didn't look like anyone he already knew. It was rather tall and thin and wore a golden gown. 

Pooh had never seen such clothing in all his life. It wasn't an apron like the one Kanga wore when she gave Roo a bath. And it wasn't like the hat and wellington boots Christopher Robin wore when it rained. Not that it was raining now, so he wouldn't be wearing them, of course. And it wasn't like.... But here Pooh ran out of remembering things it wasn't like and decided just to ask instead. 

"What are you?" asked Pooh. 

"Lost," said Someone New. 

"You can't be lost," said Pooh. " _I've_ found you." 

"Oh!" said Someone New.

"I'm quite good at finding things," said Pooh. "I found the North Pole all on my own."

"My word!" said the Newcomer. 

"Well, perhaps not completely on my own," said Pooh, because he was a truthful sort of bear. "Christopher Robin came too."

"I see," said the Lady (for that is what she was, though sad to say, she couldn't have been quite as truthful as Pooh as she clearly wasn't seeing _at all_ ).

"Does Christopher Robin know you?" asked Pooh.

"I don't know," said she. "Is he James James Morrison's friend?"

"Who's James James Morrison?" asked Pooh. 

"My little boy," said the Lady. 

"Oh, then he must be Christopher Robin's friend. Everyone is friends with Christopher Robin," said Pooh. 

The two looked at one another in silence for a moment. There really wasn't anything much else to say now about that topic. The silence was broken by a sort of rumbly sound coming from Pooh's tummy. He realised he was _so_ hungry he was actually feeling quite faint. 

"Are you all right?" asked the Lady. "Only, you are looking a bit peculiar."

"I feel most peculiar," said Pooh. "I suppose it's only to be expected I look it too." He looked down at himself and realised, to his horror, he could see his _toes._ He was actually losing his nice rounded shape he was so hungry! 

"I say," said Pooh, "I don't suppose you might have some honey on you, by any chance?"

"Honey?" asked James James Morrison's mother. 

"Or jam," said Pooh. "Yes, jam would do in a pinch."

"Why no, but I do know where you can get some," she said. "There is a tree with honey bees just over there."

Pooh had brightened at first as the Lady spoke, but when she pointed to the tree his face fell. He knew that tree well, having fallen out of it once. And he knew those bees - all too well. They were sort of angry bees, who didn't like sharing their honey, especially with hungry bears. 

"Oh," said Pooh, in a glum voice. 

"Come with me," and so saying, she led the way. She left Pooh sitting by a clump of daisies a few feet from the tree. He watched with astonishment as she hitched up her dress above her knees with her belt and then climbed up to the second branch. From there she reached quite easily into the beehive and brought out a large comb dripping with honey!

She climbed back down, and let down her skirt, before walking over and presenting it to him. 

"There you are," she said, a bit breathlessly. "My word, that took me back. I haven't done that since I was a schoolgirl. There's loads left. If you have something to put it in, I can bring some more down for you, if you want. Bees never bother with me."

"Yes, please," said Pooh, as he wolfed down the honey (unfortunately he was so hungry he forgot his manners and spoke while eating, as you can see). Then Pooh left the Honey Lady filling the one pot he'd brought with him, while he went to fetch the rest. 

He was just coming out from the back of his house with one pot tucked under each arm and a third carefully balanced between, when he saw Christopher Robin tacking a large piece of paper to a tree outside his front door. 

"Hallo Pooh!" said Christopher Robin, "Where are you off to with all those pots?"

"To get some honey," Pooh replied, "from the Honey Lady."

"Here, give me that," said Christopher Robin, as he caught the third honey pot that was just about to slip from Pooh's arms. "Silly old bear! You know you cannot carry all those at once. Here, you hold these." He handed Pooh several posters, took the other two pots from him, and put them in a little wooden wagon he had brought with him. 

"What's this?" asked Pooh, looking at the papers he'd been given.

"Notices," said Christopher Robin. "Missing Person Notices. See - here!" He pointed to the lettering. "Last seen at the end of the town - reward."

"Missing," said Pooh, "not lost?"

"No, not lost, missing." 

"Oh," said Pooh, "that's all right then."

"What's all right, Pooh?" asked Christopher Robin. 

"Well, I found someone today but she was lost, not missing."

"Did you Pooh?" remarked Christopher Robin. "Who was that?"

"The Honey Lady," said Pooh. "And she charmed the bees and got me the honey, so I came to get my pots to store it." 

As they had been talking, Pooh and Christopher Robin had put the rest of the empty pots on the little wagon and pulled it over to the clearing by the honey tree. There, just as Pooh had said, was the Honey Lady climbing down from the tree, honey comb in hand. 

"Why Pooh!" exclaimed Christopher Robin. "You are marvellous!" 

"I am?" said Pooh, wondering. 

"You have found her!"

"Yes," said Pooh. "I said I found her this morning." 

"This is the lady who was missing - from the poster!"

"Oh," said Pooh. He looked a bit sorry for himself. 

"What's wrong, Pooh?" said Christopher Robin, noticing Pooh didn't seem quite so pleased. 

"Well, she seemed like quite a _useful_ sort of person to find," explained Pooh, "what with her bee-charming and getting me honey and such. I'd rather thought she might stay, and then I'd _always_ have enough honey, you see."

Christopher Robin did indeed see. 

"But Pooh, this way you'll get the reward. The King will give you all the honey any bear could ever want for a lifetime." 

So Christopher Robin went up to say hallo to James James Morrison's Mother (who, it turned out, didn't know him after all), and helped her to contact the King. She went home to her son. And Pooh was given more honey than even he could know what to do with.

 


End file.
